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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · wind · deal · mug · tear · prune · sharp · lash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — in sport
  4. mug — a face
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wind — moving air
  20. deal — to handle
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com